CORMIER, Ernest (1885-1980)
(biography in preparation)
An extensive collection of architectural drawings prepared by Cormier between 1919 and 1960 is now held at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal. The following list of works is based on the sources cited below and on the comprehensive list of commissions published in Isabelle Gournay, Ernest Cormier and the Universite de Montreal, 1990, 173-74.
(designs by Cormier submitted in Student Competitions)
LONDON, ENGL., 1913. In June 1913, the Royal Institute of British Architects announced the list of 7 finalists for the first Annual Rome Scholarship in Architecture. The names included that of Ernest Cormier, a student from Canada who was then attending the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris (see report in The Architects' & Builders' Journal [London], xxxvii, 25 June 1913, 679, and in the Journal of the Royal Inst. of British Architects, Vol. xx, 28 June 1913, p. 612). He qualified for this R.I.B.A. competition because he was a British subject, and he was (at this time) under 30 years of age. The design problem posed to the students was for "A Technical University" on the outskirts of a large industrial town. Cormier presented an elaborate Beaux-Arts proposal in this competition. Fortunately, his competition drawings have survived, and are now held at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal. These drawings were reproduced in colour in Isabelle Gournay, Ernest Cormier and the Universite de Montreal, 1990, pp. 134-35, Plates 24 and 25.
LONDON, ENGL, 1913. While still enrolled in the Atelier Pascal at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Cormier prepared a number of drawings there including "A Detail of a Facade to A Civic Centre", presumably part of his submission for the another scholarship. This drawing caught the attention of architects and journalists in England, who published it as a full page Plate in The Architects' & Builders' Journal [London], xxxix, 21 January 1914, p. 42, where it was praised as "....an accomplished piece of student's work, showing a good sense of design coupled with draughtsmanship of a rare order".
LONDON, ENGL., Prix de Rome Competition, 1914. While still enrolled as a student in Paris, Cormier was among a group of 15 architectural students from Commonwealth countries who exhibited their drawings in the Canada Gallery at the Imperial Institute in London in early 1914. The distinguished architect Sir Albert E. Richardson, FRIBA served as juror, and commented that "Design No. 9, Ernest Cormier, from Paris, submits a drawing which is a fine, open plan, but the elevations fall below the average, and the colouring is very flashy" (The Architects' & Builders' Journal [London], xxxix, 25 February 1914, 138, descrip.). The submission by Cormier was apparently unsuccessful. Undeterred, he simply waited a few months to enter another architectural competition, that for the new British School in Rome (see entry below).
ROME, ITALY, Design for A New British School in Rome, 1914. Cormier was one of seven students who submitted elaborate plans showing their vision for a new campus of a British School in Rome. The winner of the competition, sponsored by the Royal Institute of British Architects, was Philip D. Hepworth of London, but the jury awarded the Second Prize, together with the Henry Jarvis Travelling Studentship, to Ernest Cormier, and they described Cormier's design as "...more compact and reasonable in plan than Mr. Hepworth's, but the plan is out of scale with the wants it provides for." A critique of Cormier's design, and a full page plate showing his Beaux-Arts plan and elevation, was published in The Builder [London], cvii, 17 July 1914, pp. 61-63, and illus. Plate following p. 76. All the designs were subsequently placed on public display at Crosby Hall in London, and are described and illustrated in the article cited above. Another report on the Second Prize award to Cormier appeared in the Journal of the Royal Inst. of British Architects [London], xxi, 25 July 1914, p. 610.
(works in Montreal)
MOTORDROME AUTO SHOWROOM & PARKING GARAGE, Sherbrooke Street East at Sanguinet Street, extending back to Ontario Street East, reconstruction and new facade, 1919 (Gazette [Montreal], 20 Jan. 1920, 13, descrip.; Cormier, 1990, 25, 35, illus.)
BRAMSON'S AUTO SERVICE GARAGE, Jeanne Mance Street at Ontario Street West, 1920 (Gazette [Montreal], 20 Jan. 1920, 13)
(with J. Omer Marchand) DUBRULE BUILDING, Phillips Place, an eight storey commercial warehouse for J.A. Dubrule, 1919-21 (Gazette [Montreal], 21 Oct. 1919, 7, descrip.; C.R., xxxv, 17 Aug. 1921, 17, illus. in advert.; Cormier, 1990, 24, illus.)
LAPORTE, MARTIN CO., St. Paul Street West, warehouse, 1920 (C.R., xxxiv, 21 July 1920, 56, t.c.)
ST. URBAIN STREET, at Milton Street, office and studio for the architect Ernest Cormier, 1921-22 (Cormier, 1990, 35, illus.; 173, list of works; Globe & Mail [Toronto], 19 Oct. 2018, H9, illus. & descrip.)
(with Charles Saxe and Louis A. Amos) COURT HOUSE ANNEX, Notre Dame Street East, designed 1920, built 1922-25 (Montreal Daily Star, 26 Aug. 1920, 15; and 31 Jan. 1925, 26, illus. & descrip.; Const., xx, Oct. 1927, 312-18, 321-8, illus. & descrip.; R.A.I.C. Journal, v, April 1928, 127, 129, illus.; Montreal, Les Edifices Publics, 1981, 180-3, illus.)
ST. ARSENE ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOOL, Christopher Columbus Avenue near Belanger Street, 1922-23; additional storey 1931 (C.R., xxxvi, 29 March 1922, 49; Cormier, 1990, 39, illus.)
ST. ARSENE ROMAN CATHOLIC RESIDENCE, Christopher Columbus Avenue, a new teacher's residence for the nuns, to replace the existing residence on the same site, 1923 (Gazette [Montreal], 3 May 1923, 6, descrip.; and 9 May 1923, 8; and 19 May 1923, 7, t.c.)
(with J. Omer Marchand) ECOLE DES BEAUX ARTS, St. Urbain Street at Sherbrooke Street West, 1922-23 (Gazette [Montreal], 31 Aug. 1922, 4, descrip.; C.R., xxxvi, 13 Dec. 1922, 49; Montreal, Les Edifices Scolaires, 1980, 14-15, illus.)
(with E.A. Doucet) STE. MARGUERITE-MARIE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, Ontario Street at de Bordeaux Street, 1924-25 (C.R., xxxviii, 26 March 1924, 49; Montreal, Les Eglises, 1981, 434-7, illus.)
(with E.A. Doucet) STE. MARGUERITE-MARIE PRESBYTERY, Dorion Street, near Ontario Street, a rectory for the church, 1923-24 (C.R., xxxvii, 28 Nov. 1923, 51; inf. Scott Edwards)
STE. JULIENNE-FALCONIERI ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOOL, Drolet Street, 1924-25 (Cormier, 1990, 39, illus.)
ST. AMBROISE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, Beaubien Street at de Normanville Street,1923-25; Presbytery 1928 (R.A.I.C. Journal, vi, June 1929, 219, illus.; and Sept. 1929, 321, illus.; P. Lanken, 'St.-Ambroise Church: An Architectural Lesson' in ARQ, No. 53, Feb. 1990, 20-4, illus.; Cormier, 1990, 38, illus.)
(with J.E.C. Daoust) MONTREAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, St. James Street, 1925; demol. 1964 (C.R., xxxix, 29 April 1925, 51)
(with Anastase Gravel) ST. HENRI ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOOL, Convent Street, 1926-27; demol. 1970 (list of works in ARQ, No. 53, Feb. 1990, 12)
MANSFIELD STREET, office building for Ernest Cormier, architect, 1927 (France Vanlaethem, 'Ernest Cormier, Un Grand Professional' in Journal of Canadian Art History, xiii No. 2 & xiv No. 1, 1990, 44-54, illus. & descrip.)
(with S.A. Cyr) MAISON DES PERES DU TRES-SAINT SACREMENT, Mount Royal Avenue at Berri Street, 1928 (Montreal, Les Couvents, 1984, 228-33, illus.)
UNIVERSITY OF MONTREAL, Mount Royal Boulevard, designed 1927; construction began 1928; construction suspended 1931 and resumed 1941; completed 1943 (C.R., xlii, 4 April 1928, 358, illus. & descrip.; and xliv, 7 May 1930, 526-7, illus. & descrip.; Montreal Daily Star, 23 Jan. 1928, 3, illus. & descrip.; and 9 Jan. 1930, 3, descrip.; R.A.I.C. Journal, v, June 1928, 211, illus.; and viii, June 1931, 248-9, illus.; Gazette [Montreal], 28 May 1927, 4, descrip.; and 4 July 1929, 5, descrip.; 1 March 1930, 7, descrip.; Montreal, Les Edifices Scolaires, 1980, 292-7, illus.; Ernest Cormier and the Universite de Montreal, 1990, 43-115, 133-71, illus. & descrip.; C. Cameron et al, Le Campus: Le Patrimoine architectural et Paysager de l'Universite de Montreal, 2010, 26-34, illus. & descrip.; Tim Morawetz, Art Deco Architecture Across Canada, 2017, 98-100, illus. & descrip.)
UNIVERSITY OF MONTREAL, Student Residence Building, 1928 (Montreal Daily Star, 21 March 1928, 3)
ST. AMBROISE ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOOL, Chambord Street near Beaubien Street East, 1929-30 (Gazette [Montreal], 12 June 1929, 6, descrip.; inf. Scott Edwards)
PINE AVENUE WEST, residence for Ernest Cormier architect, 1930-31 (R.A.I.C. Journal, ix, April 1932, 100, 103, illus.; July 1932, 158-64, illus. & descrip.; Trace [Toronto], i, Jan. 1981, 25-33, illus.; Architectural Digest [Los Angeles], xliii, Jan. 1986, 106-13, illus.; Montreal, Les Residences, 1987, 150-5, illus.; Robert Little, '1418 Avenue des Pins: The Ernest Cormier Residence and the European Context', in Journal of Canadian Art History, xiii No. 2 & xiv No. 1, 1990, 109-34, illus. & descrip.; H. Kalman, History of Canadian Architecture, 1994, 776-8, illus. & descrip.; Annmarie Adams & Cameron Macdonell, "Making Himself at Home: Cormier, Trudeau & The Architecture of Domestic Masculinity" in Winterthur Portfolio [Chicago], Vol. 50, No. 2/3, Summer/Autumn 2016, 151-89, illlus. & descrip.; Tim Morawetz, Art Deco Architecture Across Canada, 2017, 154-56, illus. & descrip.)
(with Henri Labelle and Roland Simard, with consulting architect Ernest Cormier) ST.-LOUIS-DE-FRANCE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, Roy Street East at Berri Street, reconstruction and rebuilding after a fire in January 1933, 1935-36 (Gazette [Montreal], 22 Feb. 1935, 10; C.R., xlix, 27 Feb. 1935, 36; Le Devoir [Montreal], 14 Oct. 1935, 3, descrip.)
STE. CATHERINE STREET EAST, at Amherst Street, a three storey commercial block at 1101 Ste. Catherine Street East, to replace the Maison Canadien Store destroyed by fire on 17 Aug. 1936 (Gazette [Montreal], 1 Jan. 1937, 4, descrip.)
MONTREAL CITY HALL DECORATIONS, for the Royal Visit of the King and Queen in May 1939, including a 60' foot high crown and cypher on the exterior facade, 1939 (Gazette [Montreal], 10 May 1939, 11, descrip.)
OGILVIE FLOUR MILLS CO., Mill Street, rebuilding of mill and grain storage elevators, 1940 (C.R., liii, 31 Jan. 1940, 21)
COTE DES NEIGES ROAD, at Pine Avenue West, office for Ernest Cormier, architect, c. 1945-46 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xxv, Oct. 1948, 364-5, illus.)
LE PETIT JOURNAL, St. Denis Street, major addition to publishing plant, 1949 (C.R., lxii, Feb. 1949, 154)
MONTREAL ROYAL VISIT DECORATIONS, for Queen Elizabeth II & The Duke of Edinburgh, October 1951, prepared in collaboration with the artist Emile Lemieux, including both exterior and interior decorations at the Windsor Hotel, at The Chalet on Mount Royal, at Molson's Stadium, and at Delorimier Stadium (Gazette [Montreal], 6 Oct. 1951, 3, illus. & descrip.)
HOPITAL STE. JUSTINE, Cote Ste. Catherine Road at Decelles Avenue, 1957-58 (Batiment [Montreal], xxxiii, Nov. 1958, 35, illus.)
(works elsewhere)
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, U.S.A., St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church, Slater Street, 1924-28 (Architecture Batiment Construction, ii, Jan. 1947, 15, 22-3, illus.)
CENTRAL FALLS, RHODE ISLAND, U.S.A., Notre Dame of Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, 1926-28 (list of works in ARQ, No. 53, Feb. 1990, 12)
GASPE, QUE., a monument to Count Jacques de Lesseps (died 1927), a pioneer of commercial aviation in Canada, 1929 (Gazette [Montreal], 28 Nov. 1929, 7)
POINTE AUX TREMBLES, QUE., Airplane Hangar for the Compagnie Arienne Franco-Canadienne, 1929-30; demol. 1987 (C.R., xliv, 29 Jan. 1930, 94, illus. & descrip.; Montreal, Architecture Industrielle, 1982, 288-9, illus.; Cormier, 1990, 26, illus.)
OTTAWA, ONT., Supreme Court Building, Wellington Street, 1938-44 (Ottawa Journal, 5 Aug. 1938, 1, descrip.; R.A.I.C. Journal, xv, Nov. 1938, 256-7, descrip.; Architecture Batiment Construction, ii, Jan. 1947, 14-15, 24-6, illus. & descrip.; L. Ploegaerts, 'l'Edifice de la Cour Supreme du Canada a Ottawa' in ARQ, No. 53, Feb. 1990, 25-9, illus. & descrip.; Tim Morawetz, Art Deco Architecture Across Canada, 2017, 61-63, illus. & descrip.)
SOREL, QUE., Hotel-Dieu, 1945-47 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xxiv, Oct. 1947, 51, illus. in advert; Architecture Batiment Construction, iv, Nov. 1949, 23, illus.)
TORONTO, ONT., St. Michael's Roman Catholic High School, Bathurst Street at St. Clair Avenue West, 1948 (Globe & Mail, 1 March 1948, 7, illus.; C.R., lxi, April 1948, 144; Cormier, 1990, 78, illus.)
TORONTO, ONT., St. Basil's Roman Catholic Seminary, St. Joseph Street near Bay Street, 1949-52 (lists of works in ARQ, No. 53, Feb. 1990, 12; Larry W. Richards, University of Toronto: The Campus Guide, 2009, 98, illus. & descrip.)
TORONTO, ONT., Carr Hall, on the campus of St. Michael's Roman Catholic College, St. Joseph Street at Queen's Park Crescent, 1950-54 (list of works in ARQ, No. 53, Feb. 1990, 12; Larry W. Richards, University of Toronto: The Campus Guide, 2009, 99-100, illus. & descrip.)
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., U.S.A., United Nations Headquarters, entrance doors, designed 1947-48; built 1952 (Montreal Daily Star, 7 Feb. 1947, 13; Globe [Toronto], 19 Dec. 1952, 15; Cormier, 1990, 22, illus.)
HULL, QUE., National Printing Bureau, Sacre Coeur Boulevard, 1952-55 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xxxii, Nov. 1955, 422-3, illus.; Le Soleil [Quebec City], 28 Aug. 1958, 1 and 12, descrip.; Cormier, 1990, 26, illus.; France Vanlaethem, Patrimoine en Devenir: l'Architecture Moderne du Quebec, 2012, 150, illus.; Andrew Waldron, Exploring the Capital: An Architectural Guide to the Ottawa-Gatineau Region, 2017, 244-5, illus. & descrip.)
QUEBEC CITY, QUE., Grand Seminaire de Quebec, on the campus of Laval University, 1957-60; interior altered 1978-80 (Cormier, 1990, 27, illus.; Luc Noppen et al, Quebec Monumental 1890-1990, 143, illus.)